Archive for February, 2012

eBook: Digital PR Techniques to Use in this Digital Age

Sunday, February 5th, 2012

A friend of mine sent me a hardcopy of this book about the importance of digital PR and digital PR techniques that work well.

"The Changing Face of Communications: 12 digital techniques for modern PR" - released by Lewis PR.

"The Changing Face of Communications: 12 digital techniques for modern PR" - released by Lewis PR.

It was recently released by her PR agency (Lewis PR) to delve into what is really key to marketing and PR professionalism, as well as companies in general who are looking to keep themselves updated in this digital age.

eBook on modern digital PR techniques for the digital age.In this digital age, we see social media evolve by the day and emerge in communications more and more.

So I do agree with my friend, Gina Daryani, how important it is to keep abreast with the latest techniques in this fast-paced and rapidly-changing age.

In order to address “The Changing Face of Communications”, this book propounds “12 digital techniques for modern PR”.

I have listed below the 12 techniques – each delved with in its own How-to chapter in the book.

  1. How to communicate in a real-time world
  2. How to incorporate SEO into PR
  3. How to evaluate a social media campaign
  4. How to improve your corporate videos
  5. How to get started in word-of-mouth marketing
  6. How to make your corporate blog take off
  7. How to use social media to enhance events
  8. How to create sticky content
  9. How to handle a social media crisis
  10. How to optimize your web presence for conversions
  11. How to make the case for social media
  12. How to work with online influencers

You may also download the free e-book from this link here.

I’m just beginning to read the book, but below is an excerpt to get you started.

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Gift ideas for a melodious Valentine’s Day

Sunday, February 5th, 2012

Planning to enjoy some romantic music during Valentine’s Day? Here are some gift ideas from a selection of stuff that I’ve covered in my blog previously.

Valentine's Day doodles by Suelyn Howe

Valentine's Day doodles by Suelyn Howe

First off, some doodles from Suelyn Howe that you can print out for use as your Valentine’s Day gift tag or card.

Bose OE2 (S$219) and OE2i (S$269) available in Singapore.

Bose OE2 (S$219) and OE2i (S$269) available in Singapore.

Now the audio gizmos. For improved depth and clarity, check out Bose’s new on-ear headphones, the OE2 (S$219) or OE2i (S$269), which deliver better audio performance than their predecessors and feature an updated look and stylish design.

Powered by BlackBerry 7, 10.5mm, NFCTo listen to music from a smartphone, check out the Pure White BlackBerry Bold 9900 (prices vary with Telcos), which is incredibly sexy and sleek.

With the unique white colour, she is sure to stand out in a crowd and always be looking for reasons to pull her phone out of her handbag.

Long evenings chatting on the phone to the boyfriend (that’s you) and BBM flirting (with you) will now be done in style!

For both listening to music and talking to you on the smartphone, check out the Bose Series 2 Bluetooth headset (S$249).

The headset assures conversations remain clear and natural – even in challenging environments, or when surrounding noise levels change suddenly.

Bose Bluetooth Headset Series 2 (S$249)

Bose Bluetooth Headset Series 2 (S$249)

For streaming music and movies, check out the Seagate GoFlex Satellite.

Seagate GoFlex Satellite 500 GB wireless mobile storageIt is the first battery-powered external hard drive to wirelessly extend the storage capacity of any Wi-Fi enabled device such as your Bold 9900, iPad or any other tablet and mobile device.

Couples can stream their favorite videos, music and pictures from their GoFlex Satellite (S$299) straight to their mobile device.

With 500GB (or 300 HD movies), the GoFlex Satellite allows you to connect up to three devices simultaneously.

What’s even better – if you are on a road trip or in a café and you have no internet connection, the Satellite will still work as it creates its own Wi–Fi network.

Contest: The 2012 Leica Oskar Barnack Award

Saturday, February 4th, 2012

Entries for this photography contest is open from now until 1 March 2012. Application forms, as well as terms and conditions of participation is available online.

Entries for the 2012 Oskar Barnack Award can be submitted from now till 1 March 2012.

Entries for the 2012 Oskar Barnack Award can be submitted from now till 1 March 2012.

The Leica Oskar Barnack Award will be presented for the 33rd time this year. The winner will receive a Leica M9-P camera with lens worth approximately €10,000, in addition to a cash prize of €5,000.

“This year, I will personally love to see more works from passionate photographers in Asia,” commented Sunil Kaul, Managing Director of Leica Camera Asia Pacific.A second honour in the course of the competition will be awarded in the category ‘Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award’, for (prospective) professional photographers aged 25 and under.

The winner of the first prize in this section will also be awarded a Leica M9-P complete with lens.

An international jury awards the Leica Oskar Barnack Award and Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award to photographers who capture and express the relationship between people and their environment in graphic form in a portfolio of up to 12 images.

Submissions must be a self-contained series of images in which the photographer perceives and documents the interaction between people and their environment with acute vision and contemporary visual style – creative, unobtrusive and groundbreaking.

The members of this year’s jury include:

  • Bruce Gilden, Magnum photographer
  • Stephan Erfurt, Director of C/O Berlin
  • Valérie Fougeirol, Creative Director of the Magnum Gallery in Paris
  • Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, Artistic Director of the Leica Galerie in Salzburg
  • Brigitte Schaller, Art Director of Leica Fotografie International magazine.

The awards will be presented in the course of the Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie photography festival to be held in Arles, France from 2 to 8 July 2012.

New printer: Canon PIXMA PRO-1

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

The PIXMA PRO-1 professional grade inkjet photo printer from Canon will be available at S$1,399 from mid February.

Canon PIXMA PRO-1 professional grade inkjet photo printer (S$1,399)

Canon PIXMA PRO-1 professional grade inkjet photo printer (S$1,399)

Print your own photo GALLERY with the world’s first 12-ink A3+ photo printer from Canon which combines accuracy with speed to produce quality color and monochrome prints.

“We have seen a lot more people taking up photography using DSLRs, and spending more time on image and photo editing,” says Andrew Koh, Senior Director and General Manager of Consumer Imaging & Information Group, Canon Singapore. “With professional print quality for both colour and monochrome images, the PIXMA PRO-1 is the next logical step in showcasing these great efforts.”Five of the 12 individual ink tanks are monochrome inks dedicated to producing professional quality black and white prints.

LUCIA pigment inks produces accurate colours while a Full-Photolithographic Inkjet Nozzle Engineering (FINE) print head provides the highest possible print resolution.

The PIXMA PRO-1 marks the addition of professional photographic solutions to Canon’s range of lifestyle printer products.

True-to-Life Prints

The PIXMA PRO-1 professional inkjet printer delivers exhibition-quality prints with a new 12-tank individual ink system.

12-tank individual ink system

12-tank individual ink system

This comprises 6 colour inks (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Red, Photo Cyan, Photo Magenta), 5 monochrome inks (Photo Black, Matte Black, Dark Gray, Gray and Light Gray) and 1 Chroma Optimizer.

The inks provide an exceptional range of colours for improved skin tones and accuracy in monochrome prints, and allow for seamless switching between various types of print media.

The Chroma Optimizer completes the 12-ink system by smoothening out stray ink droplets that cause uneven reflection, adding glossiness with anti-bronzing, and allowing users to show off gallery quality images.

Accuracy meets Efficiency

The PIXMA PRO-1 features three colour modes – colour, monochrome, and the new photo colour print mode which reproduces blues and greens to match visual memory of colours.

High print resolution of up to 4,800 x 2,400dpi

High print resolution of up to 4,800 x 2,400dpi

Its new Optimum Image Generating (OIG) system analyses colours in an image file and calculates the optimum ink combination and volume of ink droplets needed.

This enhances colour reproduction to bring out fine tonal gradations and ensures uniform glossiness across all print modes and media types, producing realistic print quality.

The PIXMA PRO-1’s FINE print head brings out detailed quality in prints, with a high print resolution of up to 4,800 x 2,400dpi.

Coupled with a printing depth of 16-bits per channel, the printer promises smooth tonal gradations in both colour and monochrome prints.

At the same time, print speed has been improved by increasing the number of nozzles to 12,288 nozzles (1,024 nozzles x 12 colors).

The new machine comes with larger ink tanks for longer print periods and offers a dual paper feeding system for both semi-gloss media and fine art media.

Front opening panels enable easy access to the ink tanks on either side of the main printer body, while the rear tray accommodates up to 20 sheets of photo paper, and the manual feed slot accepts photo paper up to 356mm (14”) wide and heavier fine art paper.

This feeding system helps to ensure paper is accurately fed, thus eliminating skewed prints, improving efficiency and minimizing wastage of ink, paper and time.

Network Connectivity

Ethernet network capable

Ethernet network capable

The new PIXMA PRO-1 professional inkjet printer can be connected to a network via Ethernet, allowing multiple user access to the printer.

This is especially useful for imaging professionals working together within a single location.

Timeless Love – a local movie supported by RIM

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012

Local production “那个夏天” will premiere in Singapore on March 8, 2012 (Gala on March 6). The Chinese movie was partly sponsored by Research In Motion – BlackBerry smartphones and Playbook tablets were used in the movie.

BlackBerry users include Aloysius Pang, Kimberly Chia and Dasmond Koh (below).

BlackBerry users include Aloysius Pang, Kimberly Chia and Dasmond Koh (below). Photo provided by Dasmond Koh.

“Timeless Love” is produced by Noon Talk Media and was shot mostly in Bintan. This youth romance and motivational movie is co-directed by Mediacorp Artiste Dasmond Koh (许振荣) and veteran director Lim Koong Hwee (林坤辉).

Directors Dasmond Koh (许振荣) and Christopher Lim (林坤辉)

Directors Dasmond Koh (许振荣) and Christopher Lim (林坤辉)

The cast includes Cynthia Ruby Wang (王心如), Joshua Ang (洪赐健), Aloysius Pang (冯伟衷), Kimberly Chia (谢静仪), Xu Bin (徐彬), Josephine Chan (陈映珍), Eugene Lim (林建辰) and Michelle Tay(郑荔分).

Morgan (Aloysius) visits a fictitious island where his grandmother (Wang) had her first love in her youth that didn’t quite work out.

He is accompanied by his friend Sky (Xu Bin) and trailed by paparazzi Uri (Eugene) who meets and falls in love with Xiao Wei (Kimberly) – a sweet and jovial girl who is the sister of the owner of the island, Eden (Joshua).

Morgan goes in search of his grandmother’s story while Uri and Xiao Wei falls for each other.

But history threatens to repeat itself as Uri discovers that his is stricken with terminal illness.

The relationship is put to the test as Xiao Wei discovers his secret identity.

The movie revolves around the six youngsters, with a theme of friendship and love.

Timeless love, "那个夏天"

Timeless love, "那个夏天"

Why “Timeless”?

奶奶在年轻时,和他的初恋情人在一个岛上邂逅,续而相恋的经历,让她一生无法忘怀。

当年,Eden(现今岛上的年轻岛主)的爷爷,把一只表送给了和他热恋中,向海洋的奶奶。

不久后,Eden的爷爷发现自己患上了绝症。

因为不想成为心爱的人的负担,他毅然和向海洋的奶奶分手。

备受打击的奶奶,把表抛进了大海后,离开了小岛。

Eden的爷爷也因此在岛上立了个规矩,凡是到岛上来的人都要交出手表。

因为这个岛是不应该有时间的!

Dasmond Koh, Kinberly Chia and Aloysius Pang will be sharing how they use their BlackBerry devices in their daily lives and during the movie making.

Nikon launches 14 new COOLPIX compact cameras worldwide

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

The 14 COOLPIX cameras comprises 4 from the L (Lifestyle) series, 2 from the P (Performance) series, and 8 from the S (Style) series. Availability and prices will be announced at a later date.

(Update: Prices have been inserted as they became available).

Click on the pictures to get to Nikon’s detailed listing of features, technical specifications and colours available for each model.

COOLPIX L810, L310, L26 and L25 from the Nikon COOLPIX L (Lifestyle) series.

COOLPIX L810, L310, L26 (S$159) and L25 (S$129) from the Nikon COOLPIX L (Lifestyle) series.

4 new L-series COOLPIX cameras

The four new L-series cameras allow users to capture photos with the press of a button.

The compact L810 is small but powerful with its 26x high-power optical zoom lens. The L310 (S$339) is packed with a powerful 21x optical zoom.

The entry-level L26 (S$159) and L25 (S$129) offer a 5x optical zoom and automatic shooting functions that make taking dazzling pictures easy.

 

COOLPIX P310 and P510 from the P (Performance) series offer superior performance and image quality.

COOLPIX P310 and P510 from the P (Performance) series offer superior performance and image quality.

2 new P-series COOLPIX cameras

The COOLPIX P310 and COOLPIX P510 are multi-function, high-performance compact digital cameras with full-scale photographic capabilities

Features Nikon’s built-in lens-shift vibration reduction (VR) function and an effective 16.1-million pixel count.

S9300, S9200, S4300, S3300 from the Nikon COOLPIX S (Style) series. The S4200 and S3200 are not available in Singapore.

S9300, S9200, S4300 (S$279), S3300 (S$219) from the Nikon COOLPIX S (Style) series. The S4200 and S3200 are not available in Singapore.

6 new S-series COOLPIX cameras

COOLPIX S9200 (S$509) and S9300 (S$549) has built-in GPS function, a high-power 18x optical zoom NIKKOR lenses that utilises thin optics, backside illumination CMOS image sensor, and a lens-shift VR system.

Nikon COOLPIX S6300 and S30

Nikon COOLPIX S6300 (S$349) and S30

The COOLPIX S4300 (S$279) and S3300 (S$219) are slimmer than their predecessors despite improved zoom function and built-in VR. The S4200and S3200 will not be sold in Singapore.

The COOLPIX S6300 (S$349) offers a balance between still image and movie recording functions.

It is compact despite a built-in 10x optical zoom NIKKOR lens; has a lens-shift vibration reduction (VR) function; and full-HD compatible movie function,

The COOLPIX S30 is a compact camera for the family. The camera is dust resistant; waterproof to a depth of three-metres; shock resistant, able to withstand falls from heights of up to 80 cm; can apply frames to still images; and has a slide show function that incorporates background music and animation.

Telecom industry leaders join forces to form Global Meeting Alliance

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

Tata Communications and nine other telecom leaders (including Telstra and Sprint) pledge their commitment today to interconnect their business video communities – driving global cross-network collaboration.

Tata Communications and nine other telecom leaders form Global Meeting Alliance

Tata Communications and nine other telecom leaders form Global Meeting Alliance

The Global Meeting Alliance is an open ecosystem that allows any service provider to connect to enterprises and institutions on all major continents, irrespective of carrier, following a similar business model to the airline alliance networks.

Peter Quinlan, Vice President, Integrated Business Video Services, Tata Communications, highlighted his company’s commitment towards “… facilitating an open, global ecosystem that moves business video from an intracompany experience to a collaboration tool with worldwide reach.”The community aims to solve shared-industry challenges to make business video available globally, simple to connect, and affordable for all.

The launch represents the largest functioning global collaboration between service providers in business video services.

Launch members include Safaricom in Africa, Telstra in Australia, Etisalat, Qtel and Mobily in the Middle East, Neotel in South Africa and Sprint, Glowpoint and TELUS in North America.

Leveraging Tata Communications’ large number of intercarrier agreements, customers of the Global Meeting Alliance members now have access to an international Telepresence network of 3rd party video endpoints, as well as the largest global public Telepresence room network consisting of 40 public Telepresence suites in 20 countries.

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CA Technologies announces CA Private Cloud Accelerator for Vblock Platforms

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

The new solution enables enterprises and managed service providers to offer automated self-service delivery of Infrastructure as a Service.

CA Technologies Announces CA Private Cloud Accelerator for Vblock Platforms

CA Technologies Announces CA Private Cloud Accelerator for Vblock Platforms

CA Private Cloud Accelerator for Vblock Platforms drives Business Service Innovation by enabling IT to provide rapid, predictable and secure provisioning and delivery of cloud infrastructure and critical IT and business services.

“We continue to work with VCE to help customers improve business agility, reduce risk and lower the costs of operating private clouds,” said Anna Gong, Vice President, Coud, Virtualization & Service Automation, Asia Pacific, CA Technologies. “CA Private Cloud Accelerator for Vblock Platforms can help enterprises and MSPs rapidly deliver services in a private cloud environment, maximizing their investment in VCE Vblock Platforms and driving Business Service Innovation to deliver speed, performance and improved cost efficiencies.”This is the company’s fifth solution certified for use with VCE Vblock Infrastructure Platforms, all of which are based on CA Technologies Unified Automation solutions.

Enterprises and managed service providers (MSPs) use cloud management software to enable their Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offerings.

Many organizations are evaluating and testing converged private cloud architectures, such as Vblock Platforms, that allow IT resources to be dynamically pooled and shared across multiple physical and virtual computing environments.

CA Private Cloud Accelerator for Vblock Platforms promises to offer standardization, a rapid provisioning process and performance predictability.

CA Private Cloud Accelerator for Vblock Platforms leverages CA Process Automation and CA Service Catalog to provide customers with a single, unified view and point of control across virtual and private cloud resources.

CA Technologies Vblock platformsOut-of-the-box standardized processes allow IT organizations to deliver Vblock Infrastructure Platforms as a service.

CA Service Catalog, accessed through a secure, online portal, empowers users to quickly select and provision the resources they need.

“The latest CA Technologies integration with Vblock platforms enables IT to transform its converged infrastructure into a true platform for delivering private cloud services,” said John Ross, CTO, GreenPages. “By combining our Integration and Managed Services with CA Private Cloud Accelerator for Vblock Platforms, customers can enable private cloud capabilities in days versus months, and realize a rapid return on their VCE investment.”CA Process Automation helps ensure that pooled resources are provisioned quickly, with minimal effort.

Service usage is metered and associated to departments, cost centers, or users for billing or chargeback.

Every organization is different when it comes to process.

CA Private Cloud Accelerator for Vblock Platforms is built on top of an extensible platform that allows IT to easily customize the solution to meet its needs and provide the flexibility to respond dynamically to changing business requirements.

CA Private Cloud Accelerator for Vblock Platforms is available today from CA Technologies and its partners, including GreenPages Technology Solutions, a national IT consulting and integration company.